Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar has called for Malaysia's boycott of the AFF Suzuki Cup 2016 to protest Myanmar's treatment of the country's ethnic Rohingya minority.

"The Youth and Sports Ministry should instruct the national team to withdraw from the AFF Suzuki Cup to protest against the Myanmar government which is hosting the tournament.

"Hopefully this will be taken up as a moral stance as well as to show our commitment to human rights," she said in a statement today.

The AFF Suzuki Cup 2016 is jointly hosted by Myanmar and the Philippines.

Nurul pointed out that Malaysia had previously boycotted sporting events to voice its protest.

"In 1980, we withdrew from the Olympic Games, which was even more prestigious, in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan," she said.

Don't repeat of 2015 boat people incident

Nurul's call came amid reported intensification of violence against the Rohingya community following attacks on Myanmar's military security outposts.

International reports have highlighted satellite images of Rohingya villages being razed.

The Myanmar government does not recognise the Rohingya community as its citizens.

Nurul, citing reports by the Human Rights Watch, said more than 150 Rohingya have been killed while 1,250 building destroyed by the Myanmar military in the latest wave of attacks.

"Malaysia cannot repeat its stance during the boat people crisis in 2015 where we ignored them in the early stages and only decided to help after public pressure," she said.

During the crisis, desperate Rohingya refugees had travelled on rickety boats to Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

Malaysia and Indonesia had blocked the Rohingya refugees from landing on their shores but later agreed to temporarily house them following international outcry.

Why better treatment for Syrians?

Nurul also cited Najib Abdul Razak's speech during the UN General Assembly in 2015, where the prime minister said Malaysia cannot "frown and turn our faces away from our fellow-Muslim poor and marginalised" when speaking about Syrian refugees.

"If the prime minister is sincere in his words on the well being of marginalised Muslims, Malaysia must take the initiative to stop the oppression against the ethnic Rohingya.

"In the name of civility and humanity, I urged the Malaysian government to take a tough stance against the oppression of the ethnic Rohingya and oversight of the Myanmar government, including by Nobel peace prize recipient, state counsellor, and de facto leader of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi, who has remained mum amid the persecution," she said.

Nurul also noted that Malaysia is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and its tenure will end next month.

She urged for Malaysia's permanent representative to the United Nations on security briefing Ramlan Ibrahim to condemn the killings of Rohingya in Myanmar.

Nurul said if the government could accord refugee status to Syrians, they could do the same for the Rohingya community.

She also urged the Malaysian public, regardless of race and religion, to speak up on the Rohingya crisis.

Beware the anger of Muslims

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang concurred with Nurul that action must be taken now by Malaysia and international bodies or risk seeing the situation escalating to full scale genocide.

He lamented that the inhuman treatment of the Rohingya by the Myanmar government has placed the regime outside the boundaries of a civilised government.

Hadi added that Myanmar's crimes against humanity can no longer be hidden especially in the information age.

"Myanmar's military Junta should realise that while they have powerful weapons in the violence being perpetrated, they are situated next to neighbouring Asian countries with a Muslim population of 300 million, including 100 million in the Indian subcontinent.

"The solidarity of Muslims views the ethnic cleansing seriously and even patience has its limits, do not challenge it," he warned.

Hadi called on all Muslims to pray for the Rohingya and find ways to help them, as well as continue to highlight the issue.

At the Penang Legislative Assembly building today, state Amanah youth chief Saifullah Abdul Nasir urged PAS' secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan to intervene to urge FAM to boycott Myanmar.

"He is FAM's vice-president and we urge him to get the football association to boycott the Suzuki Cup. This is not only about religion, but also touches on human rights of the Rohingya community," said Saifullah in a press conference.

He said the youth wing will be sending a memorandum to the Myanmar Embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25, to protest against the country's treatment of the community.

"We urged the Malaysian government to find a solution so that the Rohingya refugees who are registered with UNCHR can find employment in this country. The government must also give priority to the Rohingya refugees compared to others who are in Malaysia to seek for work," he added.